By Pemphero Malimba:
The National Registration Bureau (NRB) says it has printed three million national identity (ID) cards.
It says the figure is based on the number of IDs printed by end September this year.
This is contained in a press statement which NRB Principal Secretary Mphatso Sambo has signed.
Sambo says the bureau has processed the IDs at its Kanengo national ID card sorting centre in Lilongwe.
“Over the past few months, approximately three million national IDs have been processed at the Kanengo NRB national ID card sorting centre. These national IDs have been dispatched to district registration offices in all district councils, from where they are further distributed to local registration centres, ensuring timely delivery to the citizens who need them,” he says.
Sambo says the development is a milestone that showcases the bureau’s commitment to ensuring that eligible citizens have access to IDs.
“This achievement in national ID distribution represents a significant step forward in strengthening Malawi’s national identification system. It will enhance access to public services, support national development initiatives and foster a more inclusive and equitable society,” he said.
This comes barely a week after opposition political party representatives stormed the sorting centre, where they accused NRB officials of printing new IDs at the centre for a rigging scheme.
The development raised eye blows as it happened at the time the bureau was conducting ID registration in voter registration centres in phase three of the Malawi Electoral Commission-administered voter registration exercise.
However, the bureau has refuted the allegations.
“The NRB is aware of misinformation and disinformation circulating on social media about the national ID logistics and distribution process. We wish to clarify that these claims are not true and they are not based on facts,” Sambo said.
He further warned against the conduct of trespassing NRB premises.
“NRB premises are attached to national security and forcing oneself into the NRB offices constitutes criminal trespass. The unauthorised entry interfered with security operations and might be interpreted as an attempt to compromise national security,” he said.
Commenting on the development, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation Executive Director Michael Kaiyatsa has challenged the bureau to exercise transparency in its operations.
“I do not believe that the printing services of national ID cards is a sensitive matter, a national security issue. Institutions have to ensure that they are proactive with critical stakeholders to avoid such incidents [where opposition members stormed the Kanengo national ID sorting centre],” Kaiyatsa said.
He also challenged the bureau to expedite its ID card printing services.
“People have been complaining for a long time that NRB takes long to print IDs. I should appreciate the fact that some of these IDs that are being printed were processed way back but they are being printed now,” he said.
So far, the bureau has issued 12.5 million national IDs and 3.5 million birth certificates.
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